Home
by Regularamanda
Summary: An ordinary Christmas morning in the O'Neill household. Future. Fluff. Sam and Jack Established.


_Author's Note- This is so fluffy, I feel like I really should apologize for that. It's also sort of a prequel I guess you could say to 'Reality was Better than the Dream' and 'Second Chances' but it takes place two years before._

**Home**

A retired General Jack O'Neill yawned and blinked his eyes. He slowly turned on his side and looked at the sleeping woman who held his heart.

"Daddy." A small voice said from the door.

Jack tried not to groan. It was only 6 in the morning for crying out loud!

"What-y?" He asked quietly.

"It's Christ-mas." The little girl said matter of factly.

"It's also 6 in the morning. Go back to bed pumpkin."

She looked down at her feet and her lower lip trembled. She looked back up at him, tears swimming in her large brown eyes.

God why the hell did she have to turn him into a puddle of goo. She got that from her mother it seemed. He was getting soft, whatever happened to the tough as nails General anyway?

"How about you come up here and in a few minutes we'll go down and see. Okay?" He said.

She smiled softly and nodded her head, her messy blonde curls bouncing behind her. Quietly she scrambled up on the bed and Jack moved over to give her room. She laid in between them on her stomac, her head resting against her probed up hands.

"We have to be quiet…we don't want to wake up your Mommy." Jack said quietly.

"Mommy's already awake." And older voice said with a laugh as she opened her eyes.

"Merry Christmas." Jack said with a grin as he as he leaned over to kiss Sam.

"Hmm…back at ya." Sam said.

The little girl behind them immediately voiced her displeasure. "Do you have…to do that?" She said as she scrunched up her nose.

"Yup."

"Can we please open pr-sents now?" She said as she bounced on the bed with excitement.

Jack eyed Sam. What he'd really like to do was send Charlotte back to bed so he could give her Mommy a proper kiss. And from the look in Sam's eyes , she wanted to do the same thing. Maybe later…Jack smirked and Sam laughed at the devilish twinkle in his eye.

"Fine, let's go see what Santa brought." Jack said with a groan as he got up off the bed.

Charlotte grinned and raced out of their bedroom. Jack quickly leaned over and placed a more through kiss on Sam's lips before getting off the bed and following their daughter into the living room.

She quickly ran over to the presents and grabbed the puppy stuffed animal. She hugged it and pressed the softness to her cheek.

"It's a pup-py dog." She said excitedly.

Jack smiled at their four year old. All she said she wanted this year was a puppy.

"See we told you Santa would bring you a puppy." He said.

The little girl nodded her head. "I wanted a real-one." She said with a touch of sadness.

But He knew from her grin that she'd be happy with whatever she got.

Sam and Jack sat down and watched as their daughter slowly unwrapped her presents, taking the time to look at each one of them.

They spend the next 2 hours playing on the floor with her. Jack was more then a little bit upset that he got beat three times in Candy land. He really was losing his touch.

Charlotte awkwardly stood up and walked across the room, stand on the tips of her toes to see out the window.

"It's snowing!" She said with a squeal.

"Why don't you go have Mommy help you get dressed and then we'll go outside okay?"

She popped her head up and down and raced to her room.

Jack caught Sam by the elbow as she walked by.

"Ah! Mistletoe…you know what that means." He said softly as he leaned down to kiss her. Jack's hand slowly made it's way up to caress her cheek and he deepened the kiss. He pulled away a bit later, just a bit out of breath. He gazed lovingly into her eyes. God this woman never ceased to take his breath away, even after all these years.

"I love you." He said softly, knowing he could never say those words enough. Knowing she could never fully know how much he loved her.

"Me too." She said just as soft, as her hand stroked his scruffy cheek.

Sam pulled away and went to Charlotte's bedroom.

Jack quickly made his way to the garage and stared at the small ball of fur in the small fenced in area.

Soulful brown eyes stared back at him.

"Come on." He said as he bent to pick the puppy up.

The puppy jumped up at the fence and when he pulled her close it immediately tried to lick his face. Jack walked back in the house and put the puppy on the floor, and it scurried off to explore.

Her eyes perked up at the sound of Charlotte's door opening and it bounded into the hallway. Jack quickly followed it and saw his daughter gasp in surprise. The little girl knelt to the ground and the puppy bounded up to her. The pink tongue quickly tried to lick all the free spots on the girl's face, and Charlotte's childish laughter soon filled the house.

Charlotte picked her up and the puppy squirmed in response.

"I got a pup-py." She said with wide eyes.

"Every kid has got to have a dog." Jack said with a grin.

Sam quickly ushered them into the living room.

"What kind is it Mommy?" Charlotte asked curiously.

"It's a Shetland Sheepdog…sort of like Lassie, but a smaller version and different color fur. Now we know you wanted a puppy…but they're a lot of work and we're going to need your help."

Charlotte nodded her head vigorously and hugged the puppy closer to her.

"It needs a name…how about Lassie?" Jack said.

Charlotte looked at him in disbelief.

"Marge?"

Sam looked at him with an identical version of disbelief.

"Syd-ney." Charlotte said softly.

Jack looked at the blue merle Sheltie and nodded his head. "Sydney it is then!"

The puppy was curled up into a ball sound asleep on her lap and he knew they'd be fast friends.

"Well now that we don't have to keep that a secret…we can move the fence in and keep her in the kitchen. Come on Charlotte I think she wants to sleep for a bit longer." Jack said.

Jack quickly went to get the fence and put it up in the kitchen. Charlotte tenderly placed a kiss on the puppy's head before putting her on the floor.

"Bye Syd-ney. I love you!" She said as she waved behind her back at the dog.

Sam took her outside and Jack hurriedly got dressed and followed them out. Sam's back was turned in the snow and Jack smirked. He quickly leaded down and made a snowball and through it at her.

Sam jumped and spun around. Jack grinned at her and Sam leaned down to whisper something in Charlotte's ear causing her to giggle. His eyes narrowed and then widened when he saw them pick up snow and coming running after him.

"You can't beat me!" He said with a laugh.

"Wanna bet?" Sam said.

Jack smiled at her and leaned down to get more snow.

He was happy to learn that while he may be getting soft, his aim was still dead on.

With in a few minutes it they soon learned that he'd be the winner and Jack carefully tackled Sam in the snow.

"I win." He said with a laugh.

"A kiss as a reward?" Sam said with a grin.

Jack quickly took her up on that offer.

"Un-cle Danny! Un- cle T!" Charlotte yelled as she ran up to the two men emerging from the car. Daniel knelt to the ground and Daniel scooped her up.

"Hi Charlotte." Daniel said with a laugh. "I think you've grown a few inches since the last time we saw you."

She nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Jack." Daniel said.

Jack quickly rolled off of Sam and got up off the ground, helping Sam up in the process. "Daniel."

"I thought you said your knees were acting up again?" He said.

"They are." Jack said narrowing his eyes.

"Sure…" Daniel said with a laugh as he put Charlotte on the ground.

She quickly ran over to Teal'c and the big hulking man leaned down and gave Charlotte a hug. "Hello Charlotte O'Neill."

"Hi Un- cle T." She said as she placed a kiss on his cheek.

"It is good to see you well O'Neill." Teal'c said as he stood up.

"Likewise." Jack said smiling at his old friends.

"I got a pup-py!" Charlotte said excitedly. "Come on! We have to go see!" She said as she grabbed each one of their hands and pulled them towards the house.

Daniel and Teal'c followed quickly followed after her.

Jack wrapped an arm around Sam's waist and her arm went around him as well. As he pulled the woman he loved close to his side he smiled.

Life was good, not perfect but good. Jack gazed lovingly at Sam before going into the house.

He closed the door with the knowledge that it wasn't four walls that made a house a home. But rather the people you have inside those four walls, and the people you have in your heart, that manage to make a rustic cabin seem like the only place you'd ever want to live.

This was home.

And there was no place he'd rather be.

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_Author's Note- Thanks for reading and if you liked it let me know._


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